Our culture moves at breakneck speed. News happens fast, food is served fast, and medicines to deal with our bronchitis act fast. Technology may move the fastest of all. It seems as though new devices are released everyday. And just when you think you have caught up, you are already behind.
The pace of life and the urge to keep up creates tension with our finances. We develop faulty thinking and succumb to spending money we don’t have. Poor logic and impulsive decisions often get us into financial trouble that can take years to work through.
Truth is, there are mechanisms we could use to prevent us from getting into financial trouble but we talk ourselves out of using them. Ever had any of these thoughts run through your mind?
On Preparing a Budget. “This is way too difficult. I can never make the numbers work out. Besides it’s too emotionally painful because my spouse always disagrees with where the money should go. We end up in a big fight every month. I ain’t got time for that.”
On Delaying Gratification. “I mean really…who wants to wait six months to purchase an item. I ain’t got time for that. I want to feel good now. Plus, I’ve got to keep up with what my friends are doing.”
On Comparison Shopping. “You mean I have to spend all afternoon going from store to store trying to find the best price? I ain’t got time for that because I have to do the laundry, clean the kitchen floor, pay the bills and feed the kids all before we go to church tonight. I’ll just buy this one, even though I know it’s less expensive somewhere else.”
On Waiting for Sales. “Nobody ever knows when they are going to drop the price on an item. I ain’t got time to wait for that.”
On Avoiding the Pressure Sales Pitch. “The appliance salesmen said he couldn’t guarantee the same deal if I come back tomorrow. I don’t want to take the chance, plus I’m tired of his spiel. I ain’t got time to talk about it with my husband…OK…where do I sign?”
On Reading Product Reviews. “Ain’t nobody got time to read all the product information on the Internet. It’s mostly biased anyway. And there ain’t no way I’m paying a subscription fee to Consumer Reports.”
On Negotiating a Deal. “I ain’t haggling back and forth over price…just pay them what they say it’s worth and let’s go enjoy our new toy.”
On Saving. “You really expect me to save $400 a month for 10 months so I can buy this $4,000 car? This car ain’t gonna be here in 10 months. I’ll just get a loan now and pay that off in the next couple of years.”
On Praying. “Um…I ain’t really into asking God for His opinion on stuff. What if His answer takes too long? He will probably say ‘No” anyway. I ain’t got time for Him on this.”
I’m sure this isn’t a complete list of tools that could help us avoid financial trouble. Perhaps you could list some more in the comments below. I ain’t got no more time to think about it.
How do you combat the “ain’t got time for that” mindset?
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Nobody has time to make homecooked meals, I’m better off just buying takeout. That ones the one I’m struggling with the most right now. Especially since I work late one night a week and have class one night a week. Sometimes it’s easier to buy takeout, but my waistband and my wallet aren’t happy about it, so it’s something I need to work harder on. Great post
Thanks. We have also really struggled with eating out killing our food budget (I’m cooking for six). I think planning is the key here. I have to plan my evening meals well in advance so I don’t get caught having nothing to prepare. And I’ve learned to prepare quick meals to save time when we might be running to or getting back late from a kid activity.
I can sadly say that I have done all of these at one point in my life. I totally agree with John, having a long term outlook on choices certainly gives you the correct perspective.
I’ve done all these at some point as well. We just have to stay vigilant because our minds can be so weak at times. Thanks for the comment.
Good post Brian! It can be easy to just play along with the victim mentality and not make the hard choices. I combat it by remember how using this excuse bit me in the butt in the past…all because of my choices. I now try and take a long term view on things and it motivates me to act wisely.
That’s a great thought. Our past mistakes should challenge us to move forward and make better decisions. Thanks for that insight.
Another good one is that you don’t have time to go cook dinner at home so you just eat out all of the time. Not only does this strain our wallets over the short term by having to pay, but it costs us even more in the long run when our health isn’t so great and we need medications because we didn’t take care of ourselves properly.
Gah, cooking! I love to eat but hate to spend time in the kitchen. Nonetheless, I do it anyway for the sake of my health and wallet.
It can be time consuming. I don’t mind the cooking as much as the shopping. Sometimes I think I live at the grocery.
Boy, you are right. Eating out can crush your budget. Our family of six can’t get out of a non-fast food restaurant anymore for under $50.
You are so right….it’s easy to just say you don’t have time for some of these things! But, I can’t think of a much better use of anyone’s time then making time to create a meaningful budget.
Your right. The funny thing is, after maybe 3-6 months of doing a budget, it really doesn’t take that long to put one together. The numbers stay fairly consistent month to month. I take about 10 minutes each month putting ours together. Thanks for the comment.
A good example of that would be bills! Sometimes we just pay the bills we want to like tv or Internet. But not the real necessary ones like water and electricity
That’s a good one! Ignoring bills can definitely get you in hot water.